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Monday, January 20, 2014

Birthdays and Celebrations!

Today I want to send out a very big Happy Birthday to my youngest niece, Noelle. Today is her 10th birthday! Woo hoo!

Noelle has two American Girl dolls, Marie and Saige. She adores these dolls and carries them everywhere including restaurants. :) In trying to come up with a birthday gift idea, I asked my sister if Noelle might like two quilts for her girls. She said, "Yes!"

So, I designed the doll quilts last Wednesday and made them up on Friday. Yeah, yeah...I'm always burning the midnight oil. ;)

The quilts were simple 4 patches and strips of fabric.

I decided not to add borders and make them more "modern" as modern quilting is all the rage among young gals these days. I mean, I do want to be a hip and cool auntie right? hee,hee,hee.

I decided to quilt the 4 patch area in my normal loopy style, but stitched in the ditch for the strips.

I like how it made the strips kinda puffy after I washed the quilts.

I hand embroidered, with a split stitch and size 5 pearl cotton, the dolls' names on each quilt so they wouldn't fight about who's quilt was who's.

Girls can be like that sometimes. ;)

I think they turned out pretty good. It has been very long time since I have made something just for fun.

Normally I'm writing a million notes and taking tons of photos so I can write my patterns. This was a nice break from working.

Happy Birthday Welly! Auntie, Uncle David and the Bunnies love you sooooooooooooo very much! You rock!

On Saturday I was delighted to be part of another birthday celebration! I was the guest speaker at the first birthday of the Cape Fear chapter of the American Sewing Guild!

Oh what a fun day it was! Here I am with my new friend, Jean. She is the VP of the guild. Jean is awesome! She and I became fast friends and I know we will be spending lots more time together. Yet another reason for me to move to Wilmington! (Thank goodness she has glasses on or my ear might have poked out her eye! giggle, snort!)

Of course I wore one of my bunny hats. However, I have realized that the older I get, in addition to wrinkles, the more my hair looks like it was attacked by wolves! (stole that saying from my darling friend, Anita!) hee,hee,hee. Oh well, go with the flow.

The birthday celebration was held in Fran's Sewing Circle. What a great shop! Fran is super, super nice and check out the bathroom! Cool huh?

Ginni, the president of the guild, had her daughter make the cake. Isn't it wonderful? I'd be licking the frosting off those buttons to use them on a Fellowship flower! ;)

I did my "Down the Rabbit Hole" chat and told them all about how I fell down the rabbit hole and ended up here.

It was lots of fun! (Note, Jean is a normal size human. I am a hobbit.)

In the classroom, there was this amazing quilt which was done entirely with the embroidery machine.

Aren't these feathered stars so pretty?

I think the quilt is just stunning.

Before I left, Jean gave me a gift bag. Inside was this awesome tag! How perfect!

There was also this little framed photo. She said it is to remind me of where I want to be. Yes indeed. One day, some how, some way, I will live happily ever after in Wilmington, NC and host a retreat called "Stitch'in by the Sea."

What a wonderful post! It made me smile from beginning to end. The doll quilts are adorable and your class looked like so much fun. What a special new friend...she totally gets you! Love the framed Print to remind you of where you want to be!

This post really made me smile! Hobbits rule! I love being one:). The doll quilts are very cool Auntie Shell- and I knew your talk would be a great success! Sounds like a lovely group of ladies - and some beautiful quilts.xxx

WHAT DELIGHT I HAVE THIS MORNING! First of all, to see the bright and fantastic face of your niece and YOUR handiwork for her! Michelle, you can do just about anything with a needle, thread and fabric! LOVE THE QUILT! I wish we could all just magically transport ourselves to visit blogger pals, have a huge sewing/painting/writing/dancing/cooking party and just revel in the gifts of one another.

I JUST LAUGHED as I read that you felt your hair looks as if you were attacked by wolves! tehehehehehe it's this darn electricity in the air! My hair looks wild as I am now letting it grow out, but it is flying everywhere. YOU LOOK SENSATIONAL (and so much like my cousin Michelle)!

Well my friend, you have MUCH to do this week, so I wish you a perfect one. Thinking of you always, Anita

What a nice surprise to read your blog today and see pictures of our fun weekend together! It was a great party made all the more fun by you and your stories! So nice to see the doll quilts you talked about - she will love them!What a fun way to start the week.Thanks again, and I look forward to more sewing fun together.Jean

Those rabbit ears can be treacherous! Quilters are the nicest people, and to spend the day with them and be the presenter, well, you were definitely in your element. That quilt is outrageous! And the Rabbit Hole tag design is wonderful.

Hi Michelle!...I'm sorry it's been a while in writing...fall and christmas season keeps me so busy. I really LOVED this post. So many different topics, all so interesting. It looks like you are having so much fun. Would love to visit "Stitch'in by the Sea" Follow your dreams! It will happen someday. Sending big hugs ~ Jenn xoxo

Enjoyed this post start to finish. The 2 AG quilts are perfect, those dolls are as much fun for their "moms" as they are for those of us that sew for them.Wilmington....what a cutie you are with your wolverine hair and bunny ears. I know the ladies loved seeing all you had to offer as much as you did seeing those fantastic quilts they had hanging.The bathroom.....so cute!xo,Deb